The annual HolidayFest on the Grand will bring back some favorite festivities to downtown Portland Nov. 16 and 17. Highlights will include the downtown snowball drop, horse-drawn carriage rides and a HolidayFest parade. New this year will be a "downtown dollar stroll."

The snowball drop, a fun retail event that kicks off HolidayFest, will be held at 6 p.m. Nov. 16 on Maple Street in front of the Portland Playhouse. Anyone who retrieves "snowballs" can redeem them for prizes and discounts at participating businesses throughout the downtown, said Main Street Manager Patrick Reagan.

"Basically, we will be dropping approximately 1,000 numbered Ping-Pong balls, with each number corresponding to a different participating downtown business," Reagan said. "Anyone who gets a snowball can then take it to the business with the corresponding number and redeem it for a prize, a special, or a discount. It's a really fun promotion that was very successful last year."

Carriage rides will be offered from 6 to 9 p.m. Nov. 16 and from 2 to 5 p.m. Nov. 17. The cost for a ride is $4 for adults and $3 for children. The staging point for carriage rides on both days will be in front of Scout Park on Kent Street.

The HolidayFest parade will get underway at 6 p.m. Nov. 17. The parade route will begin at the Portland District Library and will head north down Kent Street – turning right on Grand River Avenue – and left again on Water Street. Any business or organization that wants to have a float in the parade can contact the Main Street office at 517-647-5027, or visit www.portlandmainstreet.org to download a parade registration form.

"We currently have a number of entries in the parade, but we are always looking for more," said Reagan.

A new activity this year will be the "downtown dollar stroll" from 2 to 5 p.m. Nov. 17.

"Basically, we are asking retailers to have some of their items on sale for $1 a piece," said Reagan. "We're hoping that this invites some new customers into their stores, as well as introducing these customers to their various great products and services."

The Portland Community Arts Council also will host many holiday-oriented activities downtown, including story-time with Santa, a chili challenge, the return of "luminary lane" and other family-friendly things-to-do during HolidayFest.

"We have a lot of great local businesses, community organizations, and local volunteers who work very hard to produce this event and we're really proud of the great community spirit that this event brings out," said Reagan. "We believe that this event will once again be a great time for everyone."